Mia Piccola has been around less than two years, yet the Knoxville coffee shop is expanding for the third time
Owner Nathan Kitner has tapped into a gold mine: a viral canned coffee craze that's paying off in ways he never imagined. Now, according to a tongue-in-cheek video posted Aug. 5 to Mia Piccola's social media, the North Knoxville location is about to get a whole lot bigger.
"We've kind of grown a lot quicker than I thought in this location," Kitner said in the video. "I didn't really want it to come to this, and it's kind of hard for me to make the video, but the only real solution that we can really come up with is putting a hole in the wall."
With that, Kitner got up from the bar and walked through the demolished wall into the new space,
which will add 1,200 square feet to the shop at 1328 N. Broadway. Mia Piccola expanded in December to this location, which is where K Brew got its start. It's only 400 square feet and has just nine seats.
The new space − formerly Roots and Releaf − will be ready in the next few months with some "extra cozy seating," Kitner told Knox News. A new takeaway food menu will be added before the end of the year, he said.
"We've been so busy with the whole can thing," Kitner said in the video. "I'm sure you guys have come in when it's slammed, and there's no place to stand. There's nowhere to even sit."
Mia Piccola, which means "my baby" in Italian, has been at the helm of Knoxville's viral coffee era since adding the canned "shakeratos" to its menu earlier this year. You can order any coffee in a can at the North Broadway shop or select from the eight shakerato options including the ube coconut cloud, tiramisu cold brew or sparkling cold brew lemonade.
Mia Piccola first opened as a mobile coffee cart in 2024 before moving to its first brick-and-mortar storefront on Sevier Avenue in South Knoxville a year later.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
Get the insider's guide to restaurants and bars with Eat65
Are you the one in your group who stays on top of the hot new restaurants and bars? Or maybe you're just looking for an answer the next time someone asks, "Where should we get dinner?"
Knox News has you covered, from appetizer to drinks, with our free Eat65 newsletter. Sign up today to get reporter Joanna Hayes' weekly tasting menu from Knoxville's food scene, covering what's new and unique at buzzy restauran
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Mia Piccola's 'only real solution' to success? A major Knoxville expansion
